Greg Brady: Thinks the Bulls guard is irreplaceable, and there’s no point in taking chances
How did we get to the point where we always know best what the athlete should do? The scrutiny Derrick Rose has received for not playing for the Chicago Bulls down the regular-season stretch and in the playoffs has been among the most confounding we’ve seen in some time.
I’ve heard the arguments. He’s been medically cleared. His team needs him. They can’t beat the Heat without him. Hard to argue with any of those, really. Easier to knock down the arguments suggesting “a hockey player” would play or “an NFL player” would play. Because as we’ve seen with Sidney Crosby and Peyton Manning, there are benefits to taking your time.
So, if Derrick Rose says he isn’t mentally ready to play, why are we questioning him? Rose may be a unique case. If he comes back too soon, we’re not talking a playoff loss—we’re talking about a career. There might be an insured long-term contract for Derrick Rose, but there is no Derrick Rose to replace Derrick Rose.
Grant Hill was called out as soft in Detroit for sitting out games with a bad ankle. He came back too soon, got misdiagnosed after another injury and spent the next decade in and out of surgery rooms wishing he’d been more patient. Hill’s career came to be defined by injury, and not by his NBA accomplishments. Derrick Rose can’t afford that, and neither can the Bulls.
Jim Lang: Wonders what fans and teammates must think as the Bulls get desperate
In March, Derrick Rose was medically cleared to play after recovering from a torn ACL. Yet today, when Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau looks down his injury-ravaged bench, he sees Rose in street clothes. Despite the blessing of doctors, Rose decided to wait until he was ready to play. He practises with his team, but he doesn’t suit up for games. He says he isn’t mentally ready to return and he has the right to feel that way. But at what point does professional pride kick in?
Bulls fans have watched Rose’s teammates fight through injuries and illness. They watched Joakim Noah play through plantar fasciitis in his right foot and log 41 minutes in their game-seven victory over the Nets in round one. Time and again, other members of the team willed themselves onto the court for the good of the team. If you’re a Bulls fan, it must seem like Rose is doing what’s best for him, not what’s best for the team.
The 2011 MVP has built up an impressive resumé—but part of it going forward will be the fact that he was medically cleared to play in March and chose not to join his teammates. At the very least, Rose could have played one game to test his surgically repaired knee and see if he could handle running up and down the court. If not for the sake of Bulls fans, then for the sake of his teammates, who are fighting through pain every night without him.
This story originally appeared in Sportsnet magazine. Subscribe here.